Post-apocalyptic holiday resort overlooking the Adriatic Sea to be restored to its former glory

17.05.2024 - 22:47 / euronews.com / Angela Symons

Once a must-visit holiday resort, now the leftovers of a warzone: in its 1960s heyday, Kupari in the former Yugoslavia was prized not just for the outstanding beauty of its beach, but its modernist architecture too. 

The holiday complex is only a 15-minute drive south of the medieval town of Dubrovnik in Croatia.

It was built in an era when state-owned companies and the government in communist Yugoslavia built holiday resorts for their workers along the Adriatic coast.

Left for decades to rot following the Yugoslav Wars, the resort is soon to be restored to its former glory.

Hailed at the time as one of the most important major construction projects, Kupari began after a small pre-war hotel there was nationalised.

The Yugoslav armed forces decided to continue expanding the resort to provide a holiday playground for members of the military.

The main jewel of the entire complex was the Hotel Pelegrin, a vast modernist building with more than 400 bedrooms, built in 1963.

It was based on the plans of a promising 32-year-old Bosnian architect, David Finci.

Almost immediately it was acclaimed as an iconic structure, admired for its futuristic facade and rows of concrete and stone-veneered balconies overlooking the Adriatic.

Several more hotels and buildings were added over the years, with the exclusive resort eventually occupying a large area capable of accommodating 1,600 holidaymakers and another 4,000 guests at a nearby campsites.

Architectural historian Boris Vidakovic says it's hard to appreciate now how important the area had become.

"Hotel Pelegrin appeared on the covers of architecture magazines when it was built," he says. "At the time, it surprised both experts and the general public. The building is one of the pioneers that ushered a new generation, a new type of coastal projects. 

"It was incredible, to see such a young architect, with so much confidence, succeed in creating such an original and iconic-looking hotel. It attracts attention to this day because of this - even in its present state of decay, it still looks monumental, it's still iconic and recognisable."

According to Vidakovic, it wasn't just the Balkan war that ended the resort's glory days - it had lost its previous lustre and appeal.

"Unfortunately, even though the hotel was damaged during the war [in the 1990s], its current condition is mainly the result of the decay over the last 20 years or so. After it lost its primary function, when it became disused, and when all maintenance stopped, the building was left to rot. There's nobody controlling it, there's no one checking or keeping tabs on what's going on with it, so year after year its dilapidated state just gets worse and worse," he says.

Although the hotels in Kupari were not open to the